The State Department is finalizing changes from a January rule that will add and remove items on the U.S. Munitions List and clarify the control scope of others. It said some new items should be subject to export controls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, while others “no longer warrant inclusion” or will soon be moved to the Commerce Department’s Commerce Control List. The agency will also create a new license exemption for underwater drones and tweak other portions of the January rule, but it declined to make multiple changes requested by exporters.
A U.S. business owner allegedly exported gun parts and accessories to Russia illegally by routing them through Kazakhstan and mislabeling the shipments to evade authorities, DOJ said last week. Maxim Larin, a Florida resident who owns multiple U.S.-based firearms supply companies, illegally worked with a person in Russia to evade export restrictions and ship items controlled under both the Export Administration Regulations and International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the agency said.
The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is seeking comments on an information collection involving nontransfer and use certificates information collections. Companies must submit those certificates to DDTC with any manufacturing license agreement or technical assistance agreement that involves "significant military equipment or classified defense articles, including classified technical data," the agency said. The foreign consignee or foreign end-user and applicant -- and in some cases a foreign government official -- must fill out this form to certify that the foreign end-user won't reexport, resell or dispose of the defense articles "outside the foreign country named as the country of ultimate destination" or to "any other person." Comments are due Oct. 24.
Jinchao Wei, a former sailor with the U.S. Navy, was found guilty this week after being accused of illegally exporting military information and technical data to China. Wei was convicted on several counts, including espionage and illegally exporting technical data related to defense articles in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 1.
The State Department announced three-year debarments this week against 16 people convicted of violating U.S. export control laws. All 16 are “generally ineligible” to participate in activity controlled by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations for three years following their dates of conviction. At the end of that period, they must apply to be reinstated from their debarment before engaging in ITAR activities.
The State Department completed interagency review Aug. 12 for a final rule that would amend restrictions against Cyprus under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, sent July 31 to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, could build on past measures to relax export restrictions on certain defense goods and services involving the country (see 2409260011), which have been renewed each year since 2020.
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The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls recently posted the presentations and white papers from its last Defense Trade Advisory Group plenary in December. During the plenary, industry officials recommended that the agency scale down the International Traffic in Arms Regulations’ brokering reporting rules to reduce filing burdens for the defense industry (see 2412050023). Another presentation focused on issues surrounding controlled reexports and retransfers of legacy equipment; a third presentation focused on the barriers, inefficiencies and opportunities related to co-production, codevelopment, and co-sustainment of defense articles within U.S. international trade laws. DDTC also posted the minutes from the meeting along with other documents.
The State Department sent a final rule for interagency review that would amend restrictions against Cyprus under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, sent July 31 to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, could build on past measures to relax export restrictions on certain defense goods and services involving the country (see 2409260011). The State Department has renewed those relaxed restrictions for Cyprus each year since 2020, with the latest renewal scheduled to expire Sept. 30.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls on July 29 updated its list of commodity jurisdiction determinations for items and services controlled under the U.S. Munitions List. The new determinations cover certain antennas, an anti-tank projectile, a laser range finder, a radiofrequency switch and more.